Description
While this website has become known for its in-depth album and concert reviews,
the digest contains concise comments on new music our audience has either recommended
or might enjoy. Click on album covers or label names for links to further information.
Click on the title to view the article.

(27 December 2003) Though it is by no means
a bad piece of work, it is a shame that Karnataka's
first DVD
(review),
recorded at Londonís Mean Fiddler in 2001 was
recorded just before the band raised their game
considerably. The catalyst for this was the
recruitment of the charismatic Ann-Marie Helder
who has since become a permanent backing
vocalist and flautist, and has added considerable
depth to the bands live sound and visual
presentation over the past two years.

Filmed in Trenton, New Jersey, twelve months
after the Mean Fiddler concert, Karnataka - Live
In The USA (Classic Rock Legends (UK) DVD CRL
1083, 2003) is a very representative presentation of
the band's live set towards the end of 2002.
The songs from Delicate Flame of Desire
are in strong evidence and well performed, with "After the
Rain" already benefiting from additional flute and the
strong interaction between the two singers on the
large Patriot's Theatre stage
(concert review).

Songs to note, especially, are the excellent live
arrangement of "The Storm," and the atmospheric
album version of "Heart of Stone," the bands
most progressive statement to date. The players,
too, are in excellent form with Paul Davies on guitar,
in particular, in confident mood, while Jonathan
Edwards' excellent keyboards are mixed gratifyingly
high.

The DVD is well filmed, though the sound is a little
"dry," lacking the warmth that the playing deserves,
and once again a live recording has failed to quite
capture Rachel Jones' singing at its absolute
best--though it's still pretty good! The interview
footage with the band, for some reason, squinting
into the sun, adds very little insight into the gig, but
is reasonably welcome nonetheless.

Ed. Note: After the disappointing quality of the
Mean Fiddler DVD audio, the band secured
an agreement with the label to mix the Live In
The USA DVD themselves. Indeed a mix was
prepared by the band--not only wasn't it used, but
the production copy audio is out of sync with video
for the first several tracks. Apologies were issued
by the band after the initial release of this DVD.
Both of the band's DVDs are available in PAL and
NTSC versions.

Read further reviews
and order the DVD from
amazon.com
here.
Overall, this is a welcome addition to Karnataka's
recorded output, and I'd recommend it, especially to
potential new fans.--Stephen Lambe

Review.
One year on, and the band have just completed the
second leg of their Delicate Flame of Desire
(concert review,
album review)
tour, and
have further benefited from their latest extended period
on the road. One of the things I like about Karnataka
is that, unlike most bands, they never really drop items
from their live set, circulating older songs on a regular
basis.

This gig at the excellent Robin further developed the
interaction between both singers, which has become
considerably more intimate. Rachel has always lent
a strong sexual element to her performance, and
with Ann-Marie now well established in the band
this has gone up more than a notch, as has, fashion
fans will note, the level of colour co-ordination
between the two of them.

As well as the now well established songs from the
new album, and the new song that has been in the
live set for a few months "These Dreams are Over"
(here played as the encore), the band also
introduced a couple of new pieces a short, catchy
song played early in the set, and a longer, more
intense song with an eastern flavour, during which
Ann-Marie played an interesting, horned,
Arabian-sounding wind instrument. These new
pieces give little clue as to what the next album
will sound like, but itís fun trying to guess.

Aside from these new pieces, the band benefited
considerably from the excellent stage, lights and
sound available at the Robin, which remains one
of the best club venues in the Midland area of
England, and delivered the sort of passionate,
confident, professional performance we have
come to expect from them.

It's good to see that they are continuing to develop
and challenge themselves, and I look forward to
seeing what further excitement 2004 brings
them.--Stephen Lambe